The integration of on-line monitoring and reconfiguration functions using IEEE1149.4 into a safety critical automotive electronic control unit.

This paper presents an innovative application of IEEE 1149.4 and the integrated diagnostic reconfiguration (IDR) as tools for the implementation of an embedded test solution for an automotive electronic control unit, implemented as a fully integrated mixed signal system. The paper describes how the test architecture can be used for fault avoidance with results from a hardware prototype presented. The paper concludes that fault avoidance can be integrated into mixed signal electronic systems to handle key failure modes

Analytical Modelling and Simulation of Single and Double Cone Pinholes for Real-Time In-Body Tracking of an HDR Brachytherapy Source

© 2016 IEEE. The choice of pinhole geometry is a critical factor in the performance of pinhole-collimator-based source tracking systems for brachytherapy QA. In this work, an analytical model describing the penetrative sensitivity of a single-cone pinhole collimator to photons emitted from a point source is derived. Using existing models for single-cone resolution and double-cone sensitivity and resolution, the theoretical sensitivity and resolution of the single-cone collimator are quantitatively compared with those of a double-cone collimator with an equivalent field of view. Monte Carlo simulations of the single and double-cone pinhole collimators using an accurate 3D model of a commercial high dose rate brachytherapy source are performed to evaluate the relative performance of each geometry for a novel real-time HDR brachytherapy QA system, HDR BrachyView. The theoretical penetrative sensitivity of the single-cone pinhole is shown to be higher than the double-cone pinhole, which is in agreement with the results from the Monte Carlo simulations. The wider pinhole response function of the single-cone collimator results in a larger total error between the projected center of the source and the estimated center of mass of the source projection for the single-cone collimator, with the greatest error (at the maximum FoV angle) being 0.54 mm for the double-cone pinhole and 1.37 mm for the single-cone at θ = 60°. The double-cone pinhole geometry is determined to be the most appropriate choice for the pinhole collimator in the HDR BrachyView probe

BrachyView, a novel in-body imaging system for HDR prostate brachytherapy: Experimental evaluation

© 2015 American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Purpose: This paper presents initial experimental results from a prototype of high dose rate (HDR) BrachyView, a novel in-body source tracking system for HDR brachytherapy based on a multipinhole tungsten collimator and a high resolution pixellated silicon detector array. The probe and its associated position estimation algorithms are validated and a comprehensive evaluation of the accuracy of its position estimation capabilities is presented. Methods: The HDR brachytherapy source is moved through a sequence of positions in a prostate phantom, for various displacements in x, y, and z. For each position, multiple image acquisitions are performed, and source positions are reconstructed. Error estimates in each dimension are calculated at each source position and combined to calculate overall positioning errors. Gafchromic film is used to validate the accuracy of source placement within the phantom. Results: More than 90% of evaluated source positions were estimated with an error of less than one millimeter, with the worst-case error being 1.3 mm. Experimental results were in close agreement with previously published Monte Carlo simulation results. Conclusions: The prototype of HDR BrachyView demonstrates a satisfactory level of accuracy in its source position estimation, and additional improvements are achievable with further refinement of HDR BrachyView's image processing algorithms

Radiation dose enhancement at tissue-tungsten interfaces in HDR brachytherapy

© 2014 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine. HDR BrachyView is a novel in-body dosimetric imaging system for real-time monitoring and verification of the source position in high dose rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy treatment. It is based on a high-resolution pixelated detector array with a semi-cylindrical multi-pinhole tungsten collimator and is designed to fit inside a compact rectal probe, and is able to resolve the 3D position of the source with a maximum error of 1.5 mm. This paper presents an evaluation of the additional dose that will be delivered to the patient as a result of backscatter radiation from the collimator. Monte Carlo simulations of planar and cylindrical collimators embedded in a tissue-equivalent phantom were performed using Geant4, with an 192Ir source placed at two different source-collimator distances. The planar configuration was replicated experimentally to validate the simulations, with a MOSkin dosimetry probe used to measure dose at three distances from the collimator. For the cylindrical collimator simulation, backscatter dose enhancement was calculated as a function of axial and azimuthal displacement, and dose distribution maps were generated at three distances from the collimator surface. Although significant backscatter dose enhancement was observed for both geometries immediately adjacent to the collimator, simulations and experiments indicate that backscatter dose is negligible at distances beyond 1 mm from the collimator. Since HDR BrachyView is enclosed within a 1 mm thick tissue-equivalent plastic shell, all backscatter radiation resulting from its use will therefore be absorbed before reaching the rectal wall or other tissues. dosimetry, brachytherapy, HD

Allergy in adolescent population (14-18 years) living in campania region (southern Italy). a multicenter study

Adolescents (Ad) constitute a difficult to manage population among individuals suffering from asthma. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence, clinical characteristics and age of onset of allergic sensitization and clinical symptoms in a sample of atopic Ad living in the Campania region (Southern Italy). Sixteen Allergy units or Centers belonging to the Italian Association of Hospital and Territorial Allergologists (AAIITO, Campania region) participated in this cross-sectional study. A case report form (CRF) was specifically designed for this study and commercial allergen extracts used for screening SPTs were provided by ALK-Abelló Group (Milan, Italy). A total of 443 patients were examined (females, f 220, 49.6 %; males, m 223, 50.3%). Dust mites represent the most common sensitizing agents in allergic Ad living in Campania region (Dermatoph. pteronyssinus 67.4% and Dermatoph. farinae 66.5%), followed by Parietaria (58.9%), grasses (45.8%), Artemisia vulgaris (16.7%), Olea Europaea (32.2%), dog dander (17.1%), cat dander (20.0%), Alternaria alternata (8.1%), Cupressus sempervirens (4.9%), Betula pendula (4.7%), other allergens (19.4%). An interesting comparison has been made between clinical data of our Ad with data of elderly patients (E). The role of allergic sensitization is significantly higher in Ad compared to E. Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus is the first sensitizing allergen in Ad and the last in E. Parietaria constitutes the first sensitizing pollen both in Ad and E, the percentage of sensitization is higher in Ad. Another important difference is the higher prevalence of As, as only symptom, in E compared to Ad (19.7% versus 7.6%). In conclusion, our findings confirm the high prevalence and clinical significance of airway allergic sensitization in the adolescents living in Campania region

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE

Combined search for the quarks of a sequential fourth generation

Results are presented from a search for a fourth generation of quarks produced singly or in pairs in a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 inverse femtobarns recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC in 2011. A novel strategy has been developed for a combined search for quarks of the up and down type in decay channels with at least one isolated muon or electron. Limits on the mass of the fourth-generation quarks and the relevant Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix elements are derived in the context of a simple extension of the standard model with a sequential fourth generation of fermions. The existence of mass-degenerate fourth-generation quarks with masses below 685 GeV is excluded at 95% confidence level for minimal off-diagonal mixing between the third- and the fourth-generation quarks. With a mass difference of 25 GeV between the quark masses, the obtained limit on the masses of the fourth-generation quarks shifts by about +/- 20 GeV. These results significantly reduce the allowed parameter space for a fourth generation of fermions.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO